Given name & surname
Gahan
“God is gracious”
In Scottish use, Gahan carries the interpretation “God is gracious.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
In Scottish use, Gahan carries the interpretation “God is gracious.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Scottish.
How it developed
Gahan is used as a form of John.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 2012. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Gahan through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 22
- 22 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2019
- 7 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 5 in 2021. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for boys was 7 in 2019. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 1,216 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Gahan’s family of names
Gahan is a form of John. Gahan has a related form in Gehan. Gahan has a related form in Gahen.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 13
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Mcgahanvariant · English
- Gagenvariant · English
- Gehynvariant
- Gehinvariant
- Gehunvariant
- Gehonvariant
- Gehenvariant
- Gehanvariant
Show 5 moreShow fewer
Across languages 1
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Gahan
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Gahan, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Macrae
“the son of Ray”
>99% boys
Mackinnon
“the son of the fair one”
>99% boys
Ieuan
“God is gracious”
>99% boys
Cowan
“from the hollow near the hill; one of twins”
>99% boys
Dalziel
“from the little field”
>99% boys
Calder
“of the rough waters or stream”
99% boys · 1% girls
Ness
“from the headland”
91% boys · 9% girls
Callahan
Callahan is a masculine given name from Irish.
90% boys · 10% girls